Hammock.



PATBNTED SEPT. 17, 190'7.l

G. W. BARRATT.

HAMMOGK. APPLICATION Hmm JUNE' 1a. 1907'.

. "n, Avhvlir'lr Ymzsses t iff.

PATENT OFFICE,

GEORGE W. BARRATT, OF BELLEVUE, PENNSYLVANIA.

HAMMOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed June 18,1907. Serial No. 378.748.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. BARRATT, a citizen of the United States,and residing in the borough of Bellevue, in the county of Allegheny andState of Pennsylvania, useful Improvements in Hammocks7 of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention consists in certain new and useful improvements in hammocksand especially relates to hammocks for the accommodation of infants andyoung children while sleeping where it is necessary to secure theoccupant from climbing or falling out and at the same timeavoid tooclose confinement or pressure. To attain these ends I provide my hammockwith hails or spreaders adjacent to the ends thereof and, preferably ofcurved form and somewhat more than semi-circular in extent. The body ofthe hammock is made sufiiciently full to enable the sides to be drawn uptogether above the occupant and-a cord is interlaced through theabutting edges, thus forming an inclosed receptacle for the infant orchild from which it can neither climb or fall until released by theunlacing of the cord. The bails maintain the hammock body, when lacedup, in a substantially circular form, while the top of the hammock maybe raised above the face and body of the occupant to the desired degreeby regulating the tension of the lacing cord whose ends may be ysecuredto the hammock rings. Thus perfect freedom of motion is obtained withoutpressure or danger of accident.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l `is a longitudinal elevationshowing the hammock laced up, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the hammockpartially laced up, a portion of the bottom of the body being cut awayfor the sake of clearness and Fig. 3 is a vertical section along theline III-III in Fig. l.

The following is a detailed description of the drawings:-

l is the hammock body, knit of cord 2, and attached at either end toring 3 by cords 4%.

5 and 5 are the bails or spreaders, preferably made of metal rods orheavy wire, one of the same being placed adjacent to each end of thehammock and passed in and out through the strands of said body to holdthem in place. I prefer to make said spreaders in substantially the arcof a circle and somewhat more than semi-circular, the ends, 6-6, of thespreaders being preferably bent back on themselves to obtain a betterhold on the material ofthe hammock body. I prefer to make lthe spreader5, adjacent to the head of the hammock, somewhat longer and of greaterradius than the spreader 5, so that the trough like body of the hammockwill taper somewhat from head to foot.

The body 1 of the hammock is made sufficiently full have invented ordiscovered new and so that the sides may be brought together at the top,as shown in the drawings, and the longitudinal edges 7*7 laced togetherby means of the cord 8, thus forming an inclosed receptacle for theoccupant. The ends of the cord 8 may be secured to the rings 3-3 or atother points, as desired. i

9 9 are the usual ropes extending from fixed points, not shown, andsecured to the rings 3 3 to hang the hammock.

It is evident that by regulating the tension of the ropes 9-9 thebody ofthe hammock may be allowed to belly down or assume a practicallystraight position, as desired. By regulating the tension of the lacingcord 8, the top of the inclosed body may be raised or lowered toregulate the capacity of the interior thereof. Thus where a mattress orpillow is placed under the occupant, it would be necessary to draw thecord 8 more tightly to increase the vertical height of the hammockinterior to prevent the said top from resting on the face or body of theoccupant, the idea being at all times to provide sufficient room for thefree movement of the occupant.

The use of my invention is as followsz-The cord 8 is unlaced and thesides of the body thrown back to permit the occupant to be introduced,the spreaders 5 and 5a at all times maintaining the body in itspermanent trough like contour, whether occupied or' not. After theoccupant is settled properly in the trough like body of the hammock, thesides of the body are again brought together at the top and the abuttingedges 77 are laced together by means of the cord 8 which is tightenedsufficiently to raise the upper portion of the body clear from theoccupant.

It is evident that the lower portion of the body, extended by thespreaders will at all times maintain its desired contour so that theoccupant will rest comfortably therein without pressure, while theinclosed top will prevent the occupant climbing or falling therefromuntil released by u'nlacing the cord 8.

While I have described my hammock as especially fitted for use in thecase of infants and young children, it will be understood that'it may bemade in proper sizes for adults and is useful for use in case ofsickness in warm weather as perfect ventilation is thus ob tained.

What I desire to claim isz- 1. In hammocks, a body portion maintained insubstantially the form of a trough and having its sides suflciently fullto be drawn together above said trough like portion to form an inclosedreceptacle for the occupant and a member adapted to be interlaced withthe abutting edges of said sides to secure the same together',substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In hammocks, a body portion maintained in substantially the form of atrough and having its sides sufficiently full to be drawn together'above said trough like portion to form an inclosed receptacle for theoccupant, a member engaging the abutting edges of said sides to securethem together and means for regulating the interior heightv of saidinclosed receptacle, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In hammocks, a body portion maintained in substantially the form of atrough and having its sides sufciently full to be drawn together abovesaid trough like portion to form an inclosed receptacle for theoccupant, a ord laced through the abutting longitudinal edges of saidsides and means for regulating the tension of sai-d' cordl whereby theinterio r height of said inclosed receptacle may be adjusted,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Signed at Pittsburg, Penna.,

Witnesses:

J. EI. HAnmsoN, EDWARD A. LAWRENCE.

this 12th day of June, 1907. GEORGE W. BARRATT.

